ETHIOPIA: Concerns about opposition activists' trials

ETHIOPIA: Concerns about opposition activists' trials

22 Dec 2005 09:58:44 GMT

Source: IRIN
ADDIS ABABA, 22 December (IRIN) - Rights groups have expressed concern over the trial of 131 Ethiopian politicians, journalists and civil society members for crimes ranging from treason to genocide, and called for the trials to be monitored by an independent body.The statements were made as Ethiopian prosecutors formally lodged charges against the defendants on Wednesday.The defendants, who include 10 elected parliamentarians and leaders of the country's main opposition party, the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), have been given until 28 December to enter their pleas.Charges include conspiracy, causing armed uprising, trying to subvert the constitution, high treason and genocide. Bail was denied."These charges are shocking and outrageous," said Ann Cooper, executive director of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). "They strike at the heart of Ethiopia's journalist community by criminalizing essential work of the press."The trials arise from post-election violence in November in which at least 46 people were killed in clashes between demonstrators and security forces. In June, another 42 died in similar protests over the country's 15 May parliamentary elections.Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has insisted the trials are neither politically motivated, nor an attempt to silence the press, adding they will be conducted in accordance with Ethiopian law.The maximum sentences for the crimes are 25 years in prison and the death penalty, according to Ethiopia's criminal code, with minimum sentences of three years. Among those charged were five journalists who work for the Washington DC-based Voice of America's Amharic-language service, the CPJ said. All five will be tried in absentia.Media watchdog Reporters without Borders called for the United Nations to monitor the ongoing trials. "We call on the Ethiopian government to show the utmost transparency in these cases," the Paris-based group said. The NGO, ActionAid, has also called for the release of two anti-poverty activists who are among those charged. Daniel Bekele and Netsanet Demessie did nothing illegal and were not involved in any unconstitutional activities, the organisation said.Opposition leaders say the polls that returned the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front to power were rigged. The CUD won 109 seats in the 547-member parliament but is boycotting the legislature.

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